You Can Help Determine the Future of High-Speed Internet in West Virginia

The West Virginia Department of Economic Development (WVDED), in coordination with the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council and the State Broadband Office, has issued a Request for Comment Regarding Unserved Areas, related to broadband connectivity in West Virginia. The comment period will close on September 7th, 2021.

The WVDED is seeking information that will allow it to classify broadband availability more accurately at the address level within West Virginia. Existing location information on the availability of broadband from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or other federal sources is limited because the FCC instructs Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to report service in an entire census block, even if an ISP can only provide service to a small part of a census block. This practice has given the misleading impression that many unserved and underserved areas are served – when they are not.

The WVDED has issued this Request for Comment Regarding Unserved Areas to make sure that the millions of dollars that West Virginia will receive under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for broadband enhancement will be allocated to assist West Virginians in unserved areas and will avoid duplication of previously funded projects to the extent practical.

“Our highest priority will be to expand world-class, reliable broadband service to the areas of West Virginia that need it most. This Request for Comment Regarding Unserved Areas will help us accurately identify service locations so that any available funding can be allocated in a transparent and responsible manner to reach those areas of West Virginia with the greatest need for investment in this critical infrastructure,” explained WVDED Cabinet Secretary Mitch Carmichael.

You can make your voice heard! West Virginia’s residential and business users can participate in the Request for Comment through the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council’s Survey and Speed Test found online here.

To support the Request for Comment, the WVDED has published a Preliminary Target Area Map at https://wvarpa-wvbroadband.hub.arcgis.com/. The map contains four address classifications:

1. Unserved: Addresses not reported as served to the FCC,
2. Likely Unserved: Addresses within a census block reported as served to the FCC, but that may contain some unserved addresses,
3. Likely Served: Addresses in an area that is likely served, or
4. Funded: Addresses in an area that is funded by a state, local or federally funded project (excluding satellite).
   

“Our goal is to be as inclusive as possible and to collect as much information as possible during the comment period to develop a more accurate analysis of broadband availability in West Virginia,” said Robert L. Morris, Jr., Chairman of the WV Broadband Enhancement Council.


The WVDED especially seeks data to narrow the number of addresses identified as “Likely Unserved” and “Likely Served,” to reclassify them as either “Unserved” or “Served.”  After the conclusion of this request for comment, WVDED intends to publish a revised Target Area Map.

You can explore broadband in your community by accessing additional West Virginia Broadband Maps and a Public WiFi Locator at https://broadband.wv.gov/explore-broadband-in-your-community/.